I first pursued the wilderness because the times that God had shaken me to the core from His presence occurred almost exclusively within a backdrop of His mighty Works. 

I felt to escape the tedium of academic zeal to the quiet clefts of His Creation would stabilize my battered will. 

I did not anticipate, however, that in seeking a blessed respite I was in turn being invited into His house a visitor, nonetheless entering 
with scarce an offering to the banquet table. 

The ceiling was a vast, endless expanse of elegant blue. The walls were high-stepped golden mesas. The floor was made of tranquil waters that mirrored my very image. And the banqueting table—oh, the banqueting table! Was found wherever my crumpled figure would lie in
communion with my Host.

Yet even while laced into a life of such privilege—talking with God alongside the moose and in slightly lower tones than the loon—He took my hand and guided me to an even more beautiful place.

He brought me to a place where there were other guests like myself and asked me to show them around His home, 
leaving the Holy Spirit as my guide 
and mediator.

There I witnessed true beauty in the sparkling eyes of those who gazed upon God. 

The Lord blessed me as I stood among my brothers and sisters while He descended to transfigure our humble circle into His dominion, and there the beauty was recognized within my heart, not my eyes.

This, said my Lord, is where you will find Me. 

By Joel McLin